Yesterday at 06:30
Oscar Piastri has declared it "very important" that he and Lando
Norris "protect" their McLaren colleagues, in the wake of his
team-mate's costly slow pit stop at the Italian Grand Prix. The
poor pit stop saw the British driver fall behind Piastri late in
the race at Monza, with the Woking-based squad subsequently
intervening to instruct the 24-year-old to return the position.
Although initially reluctant, the Australian driver ultimately fell
in line with the team orders and relinquished the place, a move
that cost him a six-point swing in the F1 drivers' standings
against Norris. However, following the grand prix, he shared his
opinion that it was the correct call, underlining the need to put
himself "second" in that scenario. "We've said many times that we
don't want the chance of success just for this year," Piastri told
media, including RacingNews365 . "There's a big regulation change
next year – we don't know how competitive we're going to be, and we
don't know how competitive anyone's going to be. "Ultimately, we
want the best chance at winning championships for as long as we're
Formula 1 drivers, and we're both at McLaren for a very long time.
"Protecting the people around us that give us this opportunity is a
very important thing. It's easy enough to put yourself second at
times like that." The nine-time grand prix winner highlighted that
Norris had enjoyed the upper hand all afternoon, something that
meant he had "no concern" in righting the wrong of his team-mate's
misfortune. Addressing the error by a pit crew member - who had
failed to adequately secure Norris' front left tyre at the first
time of asking - head-on, Piastri pointed out how it must have felt
for them. "If we were fighting very closely for the whole race,
then it's slightly different, but Lando was ahead by a few seconds
the whole race, so there's no concern for me with that," he
explained. "Again, we don't just want this year to fight for a
championship; we want it for as long as possible. "Protecting the
people, that includes the people doing the pit stops... It's not a
very nice feeling, I would imagine. It's important to protect all
the people that we have because that's what gives us a championship
hope for years to come."
